Spike Milligan was one of the millions glued to Quatermass and the Pit and was evidently taking notes. The whole of The Scarlet Capsule is a spoof and a very good and affectionate one. With typical attention to the sound and music Desmond Briscoe’s effects are used straight.
Like the brilliant Hollywood-esque music and authoritative announcers of the Goon Show, the scene is set perfectly to allow the comedy to undercut it. Given that the QATP series finished just a week before, this was not only an extremely current pastiche but the Quatermass Oscillations effects must have been played in from the same discs that Dick Mills cut for the TV programme.
Leave a Reply